GE India is embarking on a major localisation drive under which 60-70 per cent of the products that it sells will be manufactured in the country in the next five years. At present, the localisation is about 10 to 20 per cent.
The Aditya Birla Group is back in acquisition mode, as group firm Aditya Birla Nuvo may bid for the carbon black division of Germany's Evonik Industries. The division, with annual sales of $1.3 billion and 1,700 employees across 12 countries, is the second largest in the world.
State-owned National Aviation Company of India Ltd (Nacil), which runs Air India, has approached the government to raise $2.3 billion through external commercial borrowings (ECBs) as part of a plan to restructure its high-cost working capital debt.
Regulator wants the power to fine errant telecom companies.
After Research In Motion (owners of BlackBerry), the home ministry will now turn the screws on Microsoft, Google, IBM and Oracle. These companies provide technology and services for the virtual private networks (VPNs) run by various operators in India. The government will ask them to conform to regulation that allows intelligence agencies to lawfully intercept data. Failure to do so could result in the termination of VPN services by operators using their technology.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has thrown a spanner in the works of a government proposal to liberalise the pricing guidelines of hybrid securities such as foreign direct investment (FDI)-compliant instruments.
Reliance Industries (RIL), India's largest private sector company, is finalising a new alliance with engineering and project management partner Bechtel Corporation, as it prepares to enter the power sector.
The finance ministry is arriving at a consensus to reject a proposal mooted in government to permit foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retailing.
ITC, which has a 14.98 per cent stake in EIH Ltd -- the company that runs the Oberoi chain of hotels -- is planning to subscribe to the upcoming EIH rights issue. This ends speculation that it might pull out after Reliance Industries Ltd picked up a stake in EIH.
The finance ministry has agreed to furnish sovereign guarantees on loans raised by National Aviation Company India Ltd, which flies under the Air India brand name. A top source in the ministry confirmed: "Yes, we will provide sovereign guarantee to Air India on its loans. After all, it is a company owned by the government."
The two arms of L&TFH are L&T Finance, with its retail, micro-finance and corporate loan portfolio, and L&T Infrastructure Finance.
PepsiCo India is planning to launch beverages and snacks priced below Rs 5. This is part of a drive to address the mass market looking for nutritional products. The new range, being developed in India, is expected to be launched on a pilot basis in select markets by next year.
In its communication to DoT, the DGA said the department had granted new unified access service licences to certain companies without proper verification of their eligibility and other credentials.
The company is currently developing the Mmamabula Energy Complex -- a mining, power and potential coal-to-hydrocarbons facility -- in the landlocked southern African country of Botswana.
The move is significant as it would extend the power of CAG -- set up to audit central and state government departments as well as PSUs -- to private sector companies.
The diversified steel-to-telecom Essar Group, with revenues of $ 15 billion, is readying to consolidate its retail initiatives under one roof to maximise synergies and explore new avenues of growth. To shape its plans, Essar is forming a centralised retail think-tank at a group level to strategise the conglomerate's future course of action.
Despite their slugfest on the high street, Korean chaebols Samsung and LG have independently charted a similar strategy that will see India operations carve out a larger slice of their global turnover
Just four years before, Coke factories consumed over four litres of water for every litre of beverage sold. Now, it is 2.5 litres, a reduction of 34 per cent.
Telecom operators who offer BlackBerry services are also ISPs. The feasibility of this solution, says DoT, will be explored after discussions with the Intelligence Bureau as well as the ISPs.
Huawei, the other big Chinese vendor, is yet to decide on the issue.